THE GRAPE 123 



following summer, when after one season a large crop 

 of fruit may be expected. In both of these cases all 

 laterals must be kept pinched off in the same manner 

 as if the vine were in the vineyard. A very good way 

 to locate the canes on an old vine of this kind that 

 it is desired to save is to start near the ground and 

 mark them with blue or red chalk at frequent intervals 

 and then cut out all not so marked. 



Thinning the Fruit The money value of a crop 

 of grapes depends very largely upon the size and per- 

 fection of the bunches, and this will depend a good 

 deal upon the number of bunches allowed to grow on 

 a vine. On a vine that is vigorous and well supplied 

 with wood, more bunches of fruit will set than it can 

 mature to the greatest perfection, and the number 

 should be reduced as soon as the berries are the size of 

 small peas. The number of bunches that are to be 

 allowed to grow will depend upon the vigor of the vine. 

 In a well established vineyard the average number 

 should be from twenty to thirty to the vine, making, at 

 a distance of 8x10 feet and the bunches averaging one- 

 half pound, 5440 to 7160 pounds per acre, which is 

 perhaps about the average of vineyards under good 

 care. One, two or three bunches are allowed to each 

 lateral, according to the number and strength of the 

 laterals. 



Gathering the Fruit Unlike other fruits the grape 

 does not improve in quality after being picked but soon 

 loses its lively fresh taste, and must be fully ripened on 

 the vine. In many localities the fall frosts hold off 

 so that maturity is practically assured every year, but 

 in others it is often destroyed before fully ripe. The 

 ripeness of the fruit is generally determined by the 

 color, but it may be more definitely shown by the chang- 

 ing of the stem of the bunch where it joins the cane. 

 When this takes the color of the cane for one-fourth to 



